We present observations of energetic ions (E ~1 MeV) from the Ulysses spacecraft during its first pass from the ecliptic plane to the southern high-latitude regions of the heliosphere. At latitudes less than ~13¿S Ulysses was completely immersed in the heliomagnetic streamer belt, and observed a ~1 MeV proton intensity which showed little evidence of a perodic structure. Between ~13¿S and ~29¿S Ulysses observed one dominant recurrent co-rotating interaction region, its reverse shocks being mainly responsible for accelerating the ~1 MeV protons. At ~29¿S the spacecraft left this region and entered the solar wind flow from the polar coronal hole. From ~29¿ up to ~45¿S, reverse shocks from this and other interaction regions were still being observed. Accelerated energetic ions, with proton-to-alpha ratio signatures consistent with having been accelerated by the reverse shocks of these co-rotating interacting regions, were sill being observed up to latitudes of ~50¿S. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1994